Page 1 of Reckless Love
PROLOGUE
THE NIGHT WE MET
RHODES
Then
I heardher laugh before I ever saw her. A wild, carefree burst of sound that managed to still be delicate. I turned to find the face to that laugh and when I did, I tried not to gawk. She was beautiful with long, black hair, darkbrown eyes, and cherry red lips…dressed in an oversized dress that went all the way down to her ankles.
Somehow she still made that dress look sexy.
I was about to go introduce myself, when a guy walked up to her and handed her a red Solo cup. I frowned when she took it without hesitation, and I moved in closer when she looked disgusted after a sip.
Doesn’t she know you don’t take a drink from someone without seeing where it came from?
But the next second, I relaxed, laughing to myself when she handed the cup back to the guy and shook her head like it wasn’t for her. He downed it in three huge gulps and then burped loudly. A slight flicker of distaste crossed her face before he took her hand and led her through the crowd to dance.
I found myself looking for her throughout the night, but people kept coming up to say hi, and every time I saw her, she was still with that dude. He was getting sloppier by the second, and the later it got, the more she looked like she wanted to escape. A bunch of us were out by the bonfire and the guy sat on the ground next to her chair as she stared into the fire. Next thing I knew, he tried to pull her out of the chair, his voice rising to an obnoxious whine.
“Come on, I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I’ll get another ride,” she said.
“Come on, I’m fine, Elle. Let’s go.”
“No.”
I stood up and was there to block his path when he tried to walk away with her.
“Hey, man, can I give you a lift home?” I put my hand on his shoulder and he swayed into me.
He held onto my arm to keep himself standing. “Nah, I got it.”
“Well, why don’t you stay longer? The party’s just getting started. Here, why don’t you stretch out on this chair?” I led him to an open lounge chair and helped him sit.
He stretched out his legs and leaned his head back. “Thanks, man. I’ll stay a little bit longer.”
Within seconds, his eyes closed and his mouth gaped open as he fell asleep.
“You’re good,” the girl said as we looked down at him. “I’ve been trying to hide his keys from him for the past half hour, but he was onto me.”
“Looks like he’ll be out for a while. You okay?”
She turned and looked at me directly for the first time, and damn, I liked her smile.
“Much better now, thank you. I was trying to step out of my comfort zone…go to my first college party, say yes to Logan since he’s asked me out every day for two weeks straight…but I have horrible luck with guys. Next time I think I’ll just stay in my dorm room.” She laughed that tinkley laugh and it made me feel warm all over.
“Aw, now, let’s not make rash decisions like that,” I said. “Come on, let’s turn this around. Why do you have horrible luck with guys?”
“Uh…because they either cheat on me…or put me down…or get drunk and pass out on the first date.” She laughed.
“Damn. Guys are assholes, what can I say?” I crinkled my nose. “How about you tell me what would make your first college party experience better? It’s my first college party too, by the way.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Did you try the Jell-O shots?”
She laughed again and I wanted to keep them coming.
“So Jell-O shots aren't just a college myth?” she asked.
“Nope. They're very real. Come on. I'll show you. There are even different flavors.”